Measles Cases Reported in Louisiana

In what officials from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are saying is not an outbreak, quite a few cases of the measles have been reported across the United States - and numbers of people infected with the disease is on the rise.

According to the official CDC report, 21 states have reported cases of the illness since July 14 of this year - including 2 cases in Louisiana. According to the report from the Advocate, the 2 unrelated cases in the Bayou State were unvaccinated persons who traveled or lived outside the U.S. In fact, out of the 107 cases reported - the overwhelming majority were due to the individuals lack of vaccination.

The U.S. has been measles free for 20 years, thanks to the incredible effectiveness of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. Unfortunately, it is much more common for other parts of the world. So, if you opted to not get the vaccine and then traveled - you were putting your self at increased risk.

Officials say that since most of the country does get the vaccine, the likely hood of the measles spreading is very low.